L.A. needs 90,000 trees to battle extreme heat. Will residents step up to plant them?

In 2019, Mayor Eric Garcetti unveiled an ambitious plan to plant 90,000 trees in Los Angeles by 2021 as part of L.A.’s Green New Deal.

To accomplish this, he appointed the city’s first forest officer, Rachel Malarich, to head the Urban Forestry Division. The city also authorized a network of non-profits and “community ambassadors” to aid and encourage residents in planting much-needed trees.

But more than a year after Garcetti’s deadline, it turns out that planting trees in Los Angeles is a lot more difficult than it sounds — particularly when it comes to targeting those neighborhoods most in need of the temperature-reducing and air- cleaning benefits trees provide. To date, just over 65,000 trees have been planted.

Read more at the Los Angeles Times.